Colts

Patriots

Bills

Dolphins

Jets

Bengals

Browns

Oilers

Steelers

Jaguars

Broncos

Chiefs

Raiders

Chargers

Seahawks

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AFC teams: West, Central, East

Cowboys

Giants

Eagles

Cardinals

Redskins

Bears

Lions

Packers

Vikings

Buccaneers

Falcons

Rams

Saints

49ers

Panthers

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NFC teams: West, Central, East

The1995 NFL season was the 76thregular season of theNational Football League (NFL). The league expanded to 30 teams with the addition ofthe Carolina Panthers andthe Jacksonville Jaguars. The two expansion teams were slotted into the two remaining divisions that previously had only four teams (while the other four had five teams): theAFC Central (Jaguars) and theNFC West (Panthers).

Meanwhile, the two teams inLos Angeles relocated to other cities: theRams transferred toSt. Louis and theRaiders moved back toOakland; this would be the start of a 20-year absence for the NFL in Los Angeles. During the course of the season it emerged thatthe Cleveland Browns wouldrelocate toBaltimore for the1996 season. The Raiders' move was not announced until after the schedule had been announced, which resulted in a problem in the third week of the season when both the Raiders andthe San Francisco 49ers had games scheduled to air onNBC which ended up overlapping each other. The Raiders game was rescheduled for 10:00 a.m. PDT in case they were to relocate and NBC was given the doubleheader so that both Bay Area teams had their games televised locally.

The season ended withSuper Bowl XXX, when theDallas Cowboys defeated thePittsburgh Steelers 27–17 atSun Devil Stadium. They became the first team in NFL history to win three Super Bowls in four years. This season was Miami Dolphins head coachDon Shula's last season as coach.

• July 27: The Tampa Bay Buccaneers signed linebackerTommy Thigpen^[1]
• July 27: The Miami Dolphins signed Defensive EndSteve Emtman^[1]
• July 29: The New York Giants signedJessie Armstead^[1]
• July 29: The Indianapolis Colts signed wide receiverWendell Davis^[1]

• April 18, 1995: Four-time Super Bowl champion quarterbackJoe Montana announced his retirement. He spent the last two seasons of his career with the Kansas City Chiefs.^[2]

The1995 NFL draft was held from April 22 to 23, 1995, atNew York City'sTheater at Madison Square Garden. With the first pick, theCincinnati Bengals selected running backKi-Jana Carter fromPenn State University.

The1995 NFL expansion draft was held on February 15, 1995.^[3] TheJacksonville Jaguars held the first pick overall, while theCarolina Panthers were second, alternating picks as the existing teams made six players available for selection.^[4] The Panthers ultimately picked 35 players, while the Jaguars picked 31. With the first selection in the expansion draft, the Jaguars selected quarterbackSteve Beuerlein from the Arizona Cardinals. Selecting second, the Panthers obtained cornerbackRod Smith from the New England Patriots.

Mike Carey andWalt Coleman were promoted to referee; Carey became the second African-American referee in NFL history followingJohnny Grier, who was promoted in 1988.Dale Hamer had to sit out the 1995 season to recover from open heart surgery, while league expansion from 28 to 30 teams required an additional officiating crew.

• An eligible receiver forced out of bounds by a defensive player may return to the field and automatically become eligible to legally be the first player to touch a forward pass.
• Quarterbacks may now receive communications from the bench from a small radio receiver in their helmets, partly repealing a rule that had been in force since1956. They are also allowed to spike the ball immediately after snap to save time that is running.^[5]

A series ofNational Football Leaguepre-season exhibition games that were held at sites outside the United States. Two games were contested in 1995.

Date	Winning team	Score	Losing team	Score	Stadium	City
August 6, 1995	Denver Broncos	24	San Francisco 49ers	10	Tokyo Dome	Tokyo
August 12, 1995	Buffalo Bills	9	Dallas Cowboys	7	SkyDome	Toronto

ThePro Football Hall of Fame Game featured the NFL's newest expansions teams, as theCarolina Panthers defeated theJacksonville Jaguars 20–14, was played on July 29, and held atTom Benson Hall of Fame Stadium inCanton, Ohio, the same city wherethe league was founded. The 1995 Hall of Fame Class included Jim Finks, Henry Jordan, Steve Largent, Lee Roy Selmon and Kellen Winslow

With the addition of Carolina and Jacksonville to give each division five teams, the "fifth place" schedule given to the last-place teams in the AFC East, AFC West, NFC East and NFC Central from 1978 to 1994 was eliminated.

Highlights of the 1995 season included:

• Thanksgiving: Two games were played on Thursday, November 23, featuring the Minnesota Vikings atDetroit and Kansas City Chiefs atDallas, with Detroit and Dallas winning.
• Snowball Game (1995): In the final weekend of the season, theNew York Giants hosted theSan Diego Chargers. Giants fans threw snowballs onto the field throughout the contest. This action resulted in 15 arrests and the ejection of 175 fans fromGiants Stadium; San Diego posted a 27–17 victory in what became known as the "Snowball Game".^[6]

• Indianapolis finished ahead of Miami in the AFC East based on head-to-head sweep (2–0).
• San Diego was the first AFC Wild Card based on head-to-head victory over Indianapolis (1–0).
• Cincinnati finished ahead of Houston in the AFC Central based on better division record (4–4 to Oilers' 3–5).
• Seattle finished ahead of Denver and Oakland in the AFC West based on best head-to-head record (3–1 to Broncos' 2–2 and Raiders' 1–3).
• Denver finished ahead of Oakland in the AFC West based on head-to-head sweep (2–0).
• Philadelphia was the first NFC Wild Card ahead of Detroit based on better conference record (9–3 to Lions' 7–5).
• San Francisco was the second NFC playoff seed ahead of Green Bay based on better conference record (8–4 to Packers' 7–5).
• Atlanta was the third NFC Wild Card ahead of Chicago based on better record against common opponents (4–2 to Bears' 3–3).
• St. Louis finished ahead of Carolina and New Orleans in the NFC West based on best head-to-head record (3–1 to Panthers' 1–3 and Saints' 2–2).
• Carolina finished ahead of New Orleans in the NFC West based on better conference record (4–8 to 3–9).

The following players set all-time records during the season:

The 1995 season produced four of the top twenty highest single-season totals for receiving yards. Two of the top five teams receiving yard totals of all time – Jerry Rice's 1,848 &Isaac Bruce's 1,781 – were recorded in 1995.Detroit Lions receiverHerman Moore gained 1,686 yards (6th highest all time) andDallas Cowboys receiverMichael Irvin gained 1,603 yards (11th most in NFL history).

• Denver Broncos:Mike Shanahan replaced the firedWade Phillips
• Carolina Panthers:Dom Capers became this expansion team's first head coach.
• Houston Oilers:Jeff Fisher became the permanent head coach. Fisher served as interim for the final six games of 1994 afterJack Pardee was fired.
• Jacksonville Jaguars:Tom Coughlin became this expansion team's first head coach.
• Oakland Raiders:Mike White replaced the firedArt Shell for the Raiders' first season since returning to Oakland.
• Philadelphia Eagles:Ray Rhodes replaced the firedRich Kotite.
• New York Jets:Rich Kotite replaced the firedPete Carroll.
• Seattle Seahawks:Dennis Erickson replaced the firedTom Flores.
• St. Louis Rams:Rich Brooks replaced the firedChuck Knox for the Rams's first season in St. Louis.

• Buffalo Bills:Elijah Pitts served as interim for three games whileMarv Levy recovered from prostate cancer surgery.

• Carolina Panthers: The expansion Panthers played their first season atMemorial Stadium inClemson, South Carolina whiletheir new stadium inCharlotte, North Carolina remained under construction
• Green Bay Packers: This is the first season since 1932 that the Packers played full time in Green Bay, no longer playingselect games in Milwaukee
• Jacksonville Jaguars: The expansion Jaguars moved intoJacksonville Municipal Stadium on the site of the formerGator Bowl Stadium
• Oakland Raiders: The relocated Raiders moved back from theLos Angeles Memorial Coliseum to theOakland–Alameda County Coliseum
• St. Louis Rams: The relocated Rams initially moved fromAnaheim Stadium toBusch Memorial Stadium in St. Louis. TheTrans World Dome then opened for their fifth regular season home game, withTrans World Airlines acquiring the naming rights
• San Francisco 49ers:Candlestick Park was renamed 3Com Park after the digital electronics manufacturer3Com acquired the naming rights

• The inauguralCarolina Panthers uniforms featured gray helmets, blue trim, black jerseys with white numbers and gray pants, and white jerseys with black numbers and white pants. The helmet logo featured a black panther head with blue trim.
• TheDallas Cowboys wore a navy blue version of the white "Double-Star" alternate jerseys they wore in 1994, with blue sleeves and white star logos on the shoulders. The white "Double Star" jersey was discontinued due to a since-repealed NFL policy which allowed teams only one colored jersey and one white jersey except for special occasions.
• TheHouston Oilers began wearing their white pants with their white jerseys, discontinuing their blue pants. This was the first time the Oilers wore white pants with white jerseys for a full season since1980.
• TheIndianapolis Colts experimented with wearing blue pants with their white jerseys for their first three games.
• The inauguralJacksonville Jaguars uniforms featured black helmets, teal jerseys with white numbers, white jerseys with teal numbers, and white pants. The helmet logo featured a jaguar head with a teal tongue.
• TheNew England Patriots switched from block numbers to a rounded number font with a drop shadow. The "Flying Elvis" helmet logo was repeated on the shoulders, and TV numbers moved to the sleeves.
• TheNew York Jets removed the black trim from the nameplates on jerseys.
• ThePhiladelphia Eagles removed the black trim from their jersey numbers and nameplates.
• TheSt. Louis Rams removed the gold striping on their blue socks. Home Games featured a patch celebrating the Rams inaugural season.

• January 27-Bob Chandler, age 45. Played Wide Receiver for theBuffalo Bills andOakland Raiders from 1971 to 1982. Was a member of the Raiders squad that wonSuper Bowl XV.

• February 22-Jim Katcavage, age 60. Played Defensive Line and end for theNew York Giants from 1956 to 1968.

• March 24-Chet Mutryn, age 74. Played Halfback and Defensive Back for the Buffalo Bisons and Baltimore Colts from 1946 to 1950.

• April 26-Bruce Bosley, age 61. Played Center for theSan Francisco 49ers andAtlanta Falcons from 1956 to 1969.

• May 22-Butch Morse, age 84. Played receiver for theDetroit Lions from 1935 to 1940.
• May 23-Danny Fortmann, age 79. Two way player who played Guard and linebacker for theChicago Bears from 1936 to 1943. Inducted into the pro football hall of fame in 1965.

• July 17-George Kavel, age 85. Played running back for thePhiladelphia Eagles in 1934.

• August 8-George Svendsen, age 82. Played center for theGreen Bay Packers from 1935 to 1941.
• August 29-Al Akins, age 74. Two-way player who played defensive back and running back forCleveland Browns andBrooklyn Dodgers from 1946 to 1948.

• September 8-Lin Houston, age 74. Played guard forCleveland Browns from 1946 to 1953.

• October 2-John Ayers, age 42. Played guard for theSan Francisco 49ers andDenver Broncos from 1977 to 1987. Won two Super Bowls as a member of the 49ers.

• November 1-Rocco Canale, age 75. Played offensive guard for thePhiladelphia Eagles andBoston Yanks from 1943 to 1947.

December 6-Gerry Cowhig, age 74. Played Linebacker and Running back forLos Angeles Rams,Chicago Cardinals andPhiladelphia Eagles from 1947 to 1951.

This was the second year under the league's four-year broadcast contracts withABC,Fox,NBC,TNT, and ESPN. ABC, Fox, and NBC continued to televiseMonday Night Football, the NFC package, the AFC package, respectively. Sunday night games aired on TNT during the first half of the season, and ESPN during the second half of the season.

NBC renamedits pregame show as simplyThe NFL on NBC. The then-recently retired quarterbackJoe Montana joined the show as an analyst, alongsideGreg Gumbel,Mike Ditka, andJoe Gibbs.Phil Simms andPaul Maguire joinedDick Enberg as NBC's lead broadcast team, replacingBob Trumpy.

Verne Lundquist replacedGary Bender as TNT's play-by-play announcer. TNT also renamed its pregame show asPro Football Tonight, withVince Cellini as its host.

• Football Outsiders 1995 DVOA Ratings and Commentary
• Football Outsiders 1995 team offense stats
• Football Outsiders 1995 team defense stats
• Football Outsiders 1995 special teams stats

• NFL Record and Fact Book (ISBN 1-932994-36-X)
• NFL History 1991–2000 (Last accessed October 17, 2005)
• Total Football: The Official Encyclopedia of the National Football League (ISBN 0-06-270174-6)
• Steelers Fever – History of NFL Rules (Last accessed October 17, 2005)

• NFL seasons
• 1995 NFL season
• 1995 in American football

• Articles with short description
• Short description is different from Wikidata
• Use mdy dates from November 2013